1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention relates to a mechanical apparatus for handling pellets and the like, as well as examining the external appearance of the handled material.
2. Prior Art
In general, pellets to be loaded into nuclear fuel rods are manufactured by molding green compacts of uranium dioxide and similar nuclear fuel powders into a cylindrical form, then sintering. Because defects may develop on the surface of the pellets during the manufacturing process, it is necessary that they be inspected.
In the past, inspection of such pellets has been carried out by visual examination by inspection personnel. During this inspection, pellets with surface flaws are removed. With such a method, however, it is necessary that each sintered pellet be individually examined in order to obtain reliable results. Such an inspection method is quite laborious and considerably inefficient, and furthermore, places considerable demands on the inspection personnel.
With this in mind, various types of imaging equipment for examining the surfaces of the pellets have been proposed. With such methods, however, elaborate pellet handling devices are required to handle the pellets. Thus visualization and throughput of the pellets at a sufficiently high rate has not yet been achieved.